Scarlet Macaw

I keep running into scarlet macaws in the same spots every year, and every year I think I’ve worked them out. I haven’t.

Perch posture is half the ID. A scarlet macaw hunched, a scarlet macaw alert, and a scarlet macaw in the wind look like three different birds.

Taxonomy here follows a standard order-level frame (Psittaciformes / Psittacidae); common synonymies are noted when I’ve seen them used in the field.

I’ve had good looks during fall migration on ridges and less consistent luck at coastal stopovers.

Anyway: not a rare bird, not a hard bird, but one I want on every trip.